Chapter 8

Food for Thought: The Globalization of Agriculture

A. Logistics

Students’ Time Requirements

Activity 1: Agriculture Landscapes and Production Methods50-75 minutes

Activity 2: Global Sources for Your Local Supermarket60 minutes, depending on time to get to grocery store

Activity 3: Remote Sensing and Agricultural Land Use Change60-90 minutes

Each of these activities are stand-alone; they need not be completed in sequence. All can be completed as solo assignments or as group assignments. Activities 1 and 3 require computers and can be completed in class or as take-home assignments. We recommend in-class group work for Activity 3 if computers are available. Working in groups promotes inquiry and discussion among the students, which will lead to more class discussion during or after the activities are completed. Group activity will especially help in the remote-sensing image interpretation and in thinking about the winners and losers in each Latin American case study.

Activity 1 is self-correcting (by the computer), so it is a good candidate for students to do on their own outside of class.

Activity 2 involves fieldwork at their local grocery store. Expect that a few students will object to the cost of having to buy two imported products, but remind them that they need only buy single items of produce, that some of the imported items will cost less than their domestic equivalents, and that many do not have to be cooked (for those students on a full meal plan in the college dorms). It will help if you go over the table in Activity 2 and how to fill it out. Advance coaching will help them get more out of this activity. Ask them to look for surprising items, not just the obvious ones like bananas and Italian pasta.

Note: The satellite image classifications and land use changes in Activity 3 have not been field verified. Their accuracy is sufficient for student activities—they illustrate the concepts and technologies well. However, they should not be used under any circumstances for research or cited as definitive values.

B. Lesson Plan

  1. Two themes of this chapter: Agriculture and Globalization
  1. Agriculture
  1. Much of Earth’s surface is in agriculture
  2. Many people in developing world work in agriculture
  3. Agriculture as cause of environmental change
  4. Agriculture and food production not synonymous: growing non-food crops, hunting and gathering, etc.
  1. Agricultural Revolutions

a.First agricultural revolution: Neolithic Era

  1. first planting of crops and domestication of animals
  2. source regions
  3. innovations such as irrigation, terracing, fertilizer
  1. Second agricultural revolution: Western Europe (1600s)
  1. technological change: crop rotation, instruments, later machines, fertilizers
  2. second agricultural revolution was really an intensification of production
  1. Third agricultural revolution: Green Revolution (post-1960s)
  1. hybrid grains for better yields
  2. reliance on fertilizers
  3. genetically engineered organisms (GMOs): promise and problems
  1. Geography of agriculture
  1. Climate and natural environment
  2. Culture
  3. Economic factors: von Thünen and market location
  1. Production methods
  1. Labor intensive versus capital intensive
  2. Intensive versus extensive land use
  3. Commercial versus subsistence
  4. Sedentary versus nomadic
  1. transhumance
  2. shifting cultivation (slash and burn)
  1. Irrigated versus non-irrigated
  2. Different forms of land ownership: family farms, tenant farmers, sharecroppers, plantations, state-owned farms, garden plots, and agribusiness
  3. Agribusiness and the globalization of agriculture
  1. Globalization
  1. Time-space convergence
  2. Friction of distance reduced (examples)
  3. Both winners and losers in the global economy
  4. Free trade and comparative advantage
  5. North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

i.Mexican comparative advantage in some agricultural crops

ii.reduction in traditional peasant lifestyles and crop mixes

  1. monoculture production for export: problems
  2. economic rationale has adverse cultural and social effects
  3. Zapatista uprising
  1. Cattle production in the Amazon
  2. Global-local continuum works in both directions
  3. Challenges and alternatives to the global food economy

i.LDC objections to subsidies in the developed world

ii.Environmental objections

iii.Local community advocates

  1. Organic, free range, grass fed
  2. Vegetarians and vegans
  1. Remote sensing for land use and land cover monitoring
  1. Pixels and brightness values
  2. Bands of the electromagnetic spectrum
  3. Satellite images as digital pictures
  4. False color infrared
  5. Classification of land covers and change detection

VIII.Assign activities or do in class.

IX.Discussion of Activities 1, 2, and/or 3

C. Answer Key

Activity 1: Agricultural Landscapes and Production Methods

1.1Cattle

A capital-intensive, commercial, intensive land use system in which cattle are raised in feedlots with automatic feeding, watering, and ventilation systems.

Location: Midwest U.S.

Population density: Sparse

An extensive commercial system in which cattle are raised on the open range using natural grasslands as pasture.

Location: Colorado, U.S.

Population density: Sparse

An extensive subsistence system in arid regions in which cattle are herded nomadically among different locations of water and natural pastures.

Location: Mali

Population density: Medium

An extensive commercial system in humid tropical regions in which settlers clear patches of rainforest, plant grass, and graze cattle.

Location: Amazon Rainforest of Brazil

Population density: Sparse

Wheat

A capital-intensive, commercial, extensive production system for growing and harvesting wheat.

Location: Walla Walla, Washington, U.S.

Precipitation per year: 12-20 inches (30-50 cm) (hard to see on map—could be from 12 to 80 inches)

A capital-intensive, commercial, extensive system for irrigating wheat fields.

Location: Nebraska, U.S.

Precipitation per year: 20-40 inches (50-100 cm)

A labor-intensive subsistence/commercial system for growing and harvesting wheat.

Location: Tibet (China)

Precipitation per year: 40-80 inches (100-200 cm) (again, hard to read—somewhere between 12-80 inches)

A labor-intensive, subsistence system for irrigating wheat fields.

Location: Egypt

Precipitation per year: 0-4 inches (0-10 cm)

Rice

A labor-intensive, subsistence/commercial, intensive land use system in which rice is cultivated in rice paddy fields on flat land.

Location: Chang Jiang (Yangtze) Basin, China)

Development level: Lower-middle income

A labor-intensive, subsistence/commercial, intensive land use system in which rice is cultivated in terraced rice hillside paddies.

Location: Bali, Indonesia

Development level: Low income

A capital-intensive, commercial, extensive land use system for cultivating and harvesting rice.

Location: Central Valley of California, U.S.

Development level: High income

A somewhat capital-intensive, commercial, highly intensive land use system for cultivating and harvesting rice.

Location: Japan

Development level: High income

A labor-intensive, extensive, subsistence system in humid tropical regions in which settlers slash and burn patches of rainforest and plant rice.

Location: Borneo

Development level: Low income

Bananas

A labor-intensive, commercial, intensive land use system in which bananas are grown in corporate plantations.

Location: Costa Rica

Climate: Humid Equatorial (Am), short dry season

A subsistence system in which banana trees are grown in villages as supplemental food sources.

Location: Ecuador

Climate: Humid Equatorial, either (Af) no dry season or (Am) short dry season

A capital-intensive commercial system in which bananas are grown in geothermallyheated greenhouses.

Location: Iceland

Climate: Humid Temperate, no dry season

Vegetables

A commercial, intensive land use system in which seasonal vegetables are grown on “truck farms” for nearby cities.

Location: New England, U.S.

Agriculture: either Dairying or Mixed Livestock and Crop Farming

A capital-intensive, commercial, intensive land use system in which vegetables are cultivated hydroponically in soilless containers in greenhouses.

Location: Central Pennsylvania, U.S.

Agriculture: Dairying

A large-scale, labor-intensive, commercial, intensive land use system for cultivating and harvesting vegetables using migrant workers.

Location: California / Arizona, U.S.

Agriculture: Mediterranean Agriculture

A labor-intensive, subsistence/commercial, intensive land use system for vegetables in small, backyard, urban plots.

Location: Bosnia

Agriculture: Subsistence Crop and Livestock Farming

A labor-intensive, subsistence, intensive land use system for growing vegetables in desert oases.

Location: Algeria

Agriculture: Nomadic and Seminomadic herding

Seafood

A capital-intensive commercial system in which fish are caught in a trawl net, processed, and frozen aboard a “factory ship”.

Location: Northeast Atlantic Ocean

Development level: closest to High Income Economies

A capital-intensive commercial aquaculture system in which fish are raised in tanks.

Location: Eastern Asia

Development level: High income (Japan)/Lower-middle income (China)

A commercial system in which a moderate amount of capital and labor is used to catch lobsters in traps using medium-sized boats.

Location: Maine, U.S.

Development level: High income

A labor-intensive, subsistence/commercial system in which fish are caught in small canoes.

Location: Coastal India

Development level: Low income

Hogs

A capital-intensive, large-scale, commercial, intensive land-use, agribusiness system in which hogs are raised in feedlots with mechanized feeding, watering, and ventilation systems.

Location: Iowa, U.S.

Subsistence: No

An extensive subsistence system of hunting wild boars.

Location: New Guinea

Subsistence: Yes

A subsistence production system in which village food waste is fed to domesticated “free-range” hogs.

Location: Fiji

Subsistence: Yes

A medium-scale, commercial, mixed production system in which family farmers grow corn and use some of it to feed hogs.

Location: Indiana, U.S.

Subsistence: No

1.2

a.Labor-intensive agricultural systems:

wheat production in Tibet (China)

wheat production in Egypt

rice production in Chiang Jiang (Yangtze) Basin, China

rice production in Bali, Indonesia

rice production in Borneo

banana production in Costa Rica

vegetable production in California/Arizona, U.S.

vegetable production in Bosnia

vegetable production in Algeria

seafood production in Coastal India

b.Capital-intensive agricultural systems:

cattle production in Midwest U.S.

wheat production in Walla Walla, Washington, U.S.

wheat production in Nebraska, U.S.

rice production in Central Valley of California, U.S.

rice production in Japan

banana production in Iceland

vegetable production in Central Pennsylvania, U.S.

seafood production in Northeast Atlantic Ocean

seafood production in Eastern Asia

seafood production near Maine, U.S.

hog production in Iowa, U.S.

c.Intensive agricultural systems:

cattle production in Midwest U.S. (feedlots)

rice production in Chang Jiang (Yangtze) Basin, China

rice production in Bali, Indonesia

rice production in Japan

banana production in Costa Rica

banana production in Iceland

vegetable production in New England, U.S.

vegetable production in Central Pennsylvania, U.S.

vegetable production in California / Arizona, U.S.

vegetable production in Bosnia

vegetable production in Algeria

hog production in Iowa, U.S.

d.Extensive agricultural systems:

cattle production in Colorado, U.S.

cattle production in Amazon Rainforest of Brazil

cattle production in Mali

wheat production in Walla Walla, Washington, U.S.

wheat production in Nebraska, U.S.

rice production in Central Valley of California, U.S.

rice production in Borneo

hog production in New Guinea

e.Commercial agricultural systems:

cattle production in Midwest U.S.

cattle production in Colorado, U.S.

cattle production in Amazon Rainforest of Brazil

wheat production in Walla Walla, Washington, U.S.

wheat production in Nebraska, U.S.

wheat production in Tibet (China)

rice production in Chang Jiang (Yangtze) Basin, China

rice production in Bali, Indonesia

rice production in Central Valley of California, U.S.

rice production in Japan

banana production in Costa Rica

banana production in Iceland

vegetable production in New England, U.S.

vegetable production in Central Pennsylvania, U.S.

vegetable production in California/Arizona, U.S.

vegetable production in Bosnia

seafood production in Northeast Atlantic Ocean

seafood production in Eastern Asia

seafood production in Maine, U.S.

seafood production in Coastal India

hog production in Iowa, U.S.

hog production in Indiana, U.S.

f.Subsistence agricultural systems:

cattle production in Mali

wheat production in Tibet (China)

wheat production in Egypt

rice production in Chang Jiang (Yangtze) Basin, China

rice production in Bali, Indonesia

rice production in Borneo

banana production in Ecuador

vegetable production in Bosnia

vegetable production in Algeria

seafood production in Coastal India

hog production in Coastal India

hog production in Fiji

g.Irrigated agricultural systems:

wheat production in Nebraska, U.S.

wheat production in Egypt

rice production in California, U.S.

vegetable production in California/Arizona

Activity 2: Global Sources for Your Local Supermarket

2.1-Will vary by student.

2.2

2.3People will choose imported products over domestic competition for a variety of reasons. Student answers will depend on the product they chose, but some reasons may be:

Price: cheaper to produce abroad and import to the U.S./Canada

Label/advertising: marketing appeal to gourmets or natives of those lands

Season: crop cycles follow seasons, which is of particular relevance for countries in the southern hemisphere where seasons are opposite ours

Quality: may be related to season, or may be name or country recognition. Many people may want Mexican chilis, or Chilean sea bass, or New Zealand apples, or Turkish apricots, or Spanish olives, etc. Perhaps they prefer Nestle chocolate or Bertolli olive oil

Places with large immigrant communities may cater to the local population with foods and brands from the source country

2.4This will again vary by product, but some may not have domestic competitors due to:

Small U.S./Canadian market for “exotic” foods

Market monopoly by some foreign producer/importer

Inability to grow/produce that product in the U.S./Canada, or not economically feasible

New product that has not (yet) caught on (witness the forefront of diffusion!)

Cultural biases

Activity 3: Remote Sensing and Agricultural Land Use Change

Sonora

3.1Agriculture

(bare ground is land cover, not land use)

3.2Desert to Agriculture

85.9 km2

3.3Although there has been some limited infill, the major spatial pattern to be noticed here is the extension of agriculture into a large area near the open desert in the center of the photograph. It is quite likely that this is the result of access in this area to a new irrigation system.

3.4

Positive Effects / Negative Effects
In Mexico / * new source of income
* more jobs
* economies of scale
* greater cross-border
business interaction / * loss of natural desert
environment
*more water use leads to less water going to natural river system and delta
* less biodiversity as
agricultural monocrop
economy grows
* probable increased use of
pesticides and fertilizers
In the U.S. and Canada / * more high-quality, cheap
produce from Mexico
* greater cross-border
business interaction
* longer season for fresh
produce / * less production of this crop in the U.S./Canada
* perhaps loss of farming
jobs

3.5second-most-important change: Agriculture to Fallow (82.5 km2)

Third-most-important change: Fallow to Agriculture (57.5 km2)

Fourth-most-important change: Agriculture to Urban (11.5 km2)

Guanajuato

3.6Agriculture

urban

fallow fields

(bare ground and natural vegetation are land covers, not land use)

3.7Mixed to Monocrop

150.7 km2

3.8The change has occurred fairly uniformly throughout the alreadyexisting agricultural area. The agricultural areas are lowlands between the higher peaks. There is perhaps more intense change near the city of Celaya, but for the most part change has occurred in all farming areas.

3.9

Positive Effects / Negative Effects
In Mexico / * new source of income
* higher earnings from export
crops
* possible new jobs in
packing plants and trucking
* economies of scale
* greater cross-border
business interaction / * loss of family farms which
are individuallyowned (or
communally owned in
ejidos)
* dependence on one crop
increases risk of failure if a drought or bug infestation
* likely increase in pesticides and fertilizers
* likely loss of jobs for
peasants as mechanization occurs
* increased dependence on
factory or urban jobs
In the U.S. and Canada / * cheaper food
* items usually harvested in
summer are now available
year-round
* greater cross-border
business interaction / * increased dependence on
imports for food production
* loss of viable production of this crop incountry
* possible loss of farming
jobs

3.10second-most-important change: Fallow to Agriculture (28.6 km2)

Third-most-important change: Agriculture to Fallow (17.2 km2)

Fourth-most-important change: Agriculture to Urban (10.2 km2)

Ecuador

3.11Deforested. While we don’t know exactly what the land use is, the text states that 70% is for ranching; much of the remainder is for such crops as oil palm. The oil-well overlay also shows much land used for extracting oil.

3.12665.8 km2

3.133427.1 km2

3.142055.1 km2

3.15Most of the forest land appears to have been cleared for uses other than oil well construction. However, the pattern of clearance definitely follows roads, and rivers to a lesser extent. Very few areas are cleared of forest away from roads and rivers. Roads are the primary mode of access into the rainforest, so little expansion occurs beyond the transportation network.

3.16

Positive Effects / Negative Effects
In Ecuador / * more ranchland for raising
and selling beef
* increased mining and sale
of oil
* means for survival for
peasants
* population pressure relief
from crowded cities of
Quito/Guayaquil and from
other rural areas / * loss of rainforest and
natural diversity
* increased erosion
* possible loss of stability in
the world environment
(global warming)
* negative impacts on
indigenous peoples
lifestyles
In the U.S. and Canada / * more and cheaper beef
* more oil on the world
market generally means
cheaper oil
* possible benefit of other
tropical product production / * possible loss of stability in
the world environment
(global warming)
* possible loss of
pharmaceutical supplies
* cheap beef imports
threatens ranching industry in the U.S. and Canada

D. Discussion or Essay Questions

Is the global economy distributing wealth fairly, or are certain players accumulating wealth more than others?

Has NAFTA been good for the United States? For Canada? For Mexico?

How does NAFTA affect the volatile debate about illegal Mexican immigration to the U.S.?

What are the benefits and drawbacks of being able to purchase cheap imported foods at your grocery store?

Why have many labor unions opposed NAFTA and free trade?

Why have many environmentalists opposed NAFTA and free trade?

Why do indigenous groups like the Zapatistas in Mexico see NAFTA and free trade as a threat?